Safety device for preventing the unauthorized use of automatic telephone apparatus



SAFETY DEVICE FOR PREVENTING THE UNAUTHORIZED USE OF AUTOMATIC TELEPHONE APPARATUS Filed Dec. 1, 1928 J y 29,1930. J. MAREIK 1,77i,800

I J Mare/H VENTIR Patented Jul 29, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOSEPH MAREK, OF BUDAPEST, HUNGARY SAFETY DEVICE BOB PREVENTING THE UNAUTHORIZED USE OF AUTOMATIC TELE- PHONE APPARATUS Application filed December 1, 1928, Serial No. 323,028, and iii Hungary July 25, 1928.

This invention relates to a very simple safety device'which will prevent the unauthorized use of automatic telephone apparatus if mounted thereon, and which by its simplicity is easy and cheap to produce.

Beside its simplicity and cheapness the safety device according to the invention possesses the very great advantage that it may be assembled or mounted on the automatic 1o telephone apparatus without the necessity of effecting the least change or modification in the latter, this being a fact of considerable importance with a view to the circumstance that the telephone apparatus in general does not form the possession of the person who uses it.

According to the invention, for the purpose of preventing the unauthorized use of an automatic telephone apparatus that hole of the finger disc of its rotary number dial which is the nearest to the stationarybufler provided for the finger is blocked together with the latter by means of stationary and rotatable latches embedded in one and the same body portion and a loop, hoop or cuif, integral with or rigidly secured to the said body portion of the safety device, the said latches being inserted into the said hole and locked in their inserted position, the said hoop at the same time being put round the said stationary buffer portion. The turning of the said rotary latch for the purpose of locking the safety device is effected by means of a key so thatafter the said rotary latch is turned into its locking position by means of the key only the owner of the key or a person authorized by the owner is in a position to turn back the rotary latch into its unlocked position and so to dissolve the blocking together of the stationary and movable parts of the automatic telephone apparatus by removing the safety device, and thereby to restore the ready-for-use condition of the automatic telephone apparatus.

In the accompanying drawing one form of the safety device according to the invention is shown by way of example.

Fig- 1 shows for the convenience of de-' scription and for the sake of reference the rotary number disc of an automatic telephone apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the safety device showing the securing latches in their locked position, the key for working the roparly latch being inserted into the slot of said oc Fig. 3 is a side view of the safety device partly in section, the securing latches being in their locking position.

The safety device shown comprises a body portion 1 in which is embedded a lock of any desired construction or pattern the rotatable latch 2 of which may be turned into its looking position shown in Figs. 2 and 3 by means of the key 3.' For moving the latch 2 into its locking position the same is preferably turned from its unlocked position by 180. Integral with the body portion 1, or rigidly aflixed thereto, there is a stationary latch'or hook 4, which is preferably arranged on a semi-circular flange 5. Also integral with or rigidly secured to the body portion 1 there is a loop, hoop or cufi 6 which is of such form and size that it surrounds the stationary bufi'er portion A of the automatic telephone apparatus leaving a small clear distance round the latter.

When mounting or assembling the safety device on the automatic telephone apparatus its rotatable latch 2 is first of all turned into its unlocked position shown in Fig. 1 by means of the key 3, and the stationary hook 4 of the same is inserted into that hole C of the rotary finger disc B of the automatic telephone apparatus which is nearest to the stationary buffer portion A, in such a manner that the end of the hook 4 should occupy a position under the wall of the finger disc B, the semi-circular shoulder or flange 5 vice in such inserted position. At the'same time the hoop 6 is put round the buffer vportion A. If now the rotatable latch 2 is turned into its locking position shown in Fig. 2 by means of the key 3 the divergent latches 2 and 4, the distance between the ends of which in this position is greater than the diameter of the hole C, will prevent any lifting or re.- moving from the hole C of the safety device offering a better support for the safety desafety device and also a liftingof the hoop 6 from around the buffer A. Thus, the disc B is secured against turnin round since the hoop 6 of the fi xed in its hole 0 is caught by the stationary buffer portion A of the automatic telephone apparatus which in this manner is rendered unfit for the switching on of any number by the rotary movement of its number dial. After the removal of the key 3 only the owner of the key or a person authorized by him or her is in a position to remove the safety device and thereby to restore the automatic telephone apparatus into its ready-to-call condition, whereby an unauthorized use of the telephone apparatus is most eficiently prevented.

For the purpose of removing the safety device it is sufiicient to turn the rotatable latch 2 into its unlocked position by means of the key 3, whereupon the safety device may easily be lifted out of thehole C and the automatic telephone apparatus is again ready for calling.

The safety device according to the present invention also possesses the very remarkable advantage that it prevents outgoing calls only, but does not interfere with the reception of incoming calls, If therefore the station equipped with the safety device is called from some other station it may promptly answer the call without any difliculty whatsoever because this does not necessitate the rotation of the number dial, at the same time any call from the station equipped with the safety device being prevented by the locking of the said rotary dial.

It will be Well to note that in the foregoing only a preferable form of the safety device according to the invention has been described and that numerous changes and modifications may be effected therein without departing from the spirit or leaving the scope of the invention as set forth in the ap ended claim. For instance, portions other t an the nearest hole of the rotary. finger disc may be blocked together with the stationary bufl'er. Furthermore, the safety device may be constructed in such form as to be suitable of being aflixed on some stationary part of the automatic telephone device in which case it may be provided with means to be coupled with some movable part of the automatic telephone device used for calling or switching on purposes.

Having now particularly described my invention and in what manner the same may be performed, I declare that In a safety device for preventing the unauthorized use of automatic telephone apparatus a body portion,- a lock embedded there 1n and havlng a latch, means for working the lock and moving the latch into its locking or unlocked positions,- a hook on the said body portion co-operating with the said latch for securingthe safety device on the finger disc signature.

JOSEPH MAREK.

what I claim is v 

